31B - VARIANCE - 3600-3796 S BRISTOL ST

Home Browse Search

Variance No. 2011-08 June 13, 2011 Page 2 4. 15,100 square feet of bank and savings & loan uses; 5. 35,570 square feet of health club area; and 6. 9,100 square feet of administrative office space. The proposed 10,000 square foot restaurant and retail building will serve to replace a smaller structure currently located along Bristol Street that is currently occupied by a Casual Male retail store at 3638 South Bristol Street. The site is surrounded by commercial uses to the north, south, and east; and multi-family residential to the west (Exhibits 1 and 2). Project Description The proposed project consists of the demolition of the existing 2,790 square foot retail building and construction of a new 10,000 square foot restaurant and retail multi-tenant building at its previous location. The building will feature a contemporary architectural theme with courtyard style entrances along each elevation and will include pedestrian links to both Bristol Street and the interior of the existing center. Key architectural elements to complement the existing center will include exposed wood trellis features, smooth stucco finish, fired stone slate, and a decorative mission tile roof. In addition to the proposed building, the applicant intends to expand the amount of restaurant and medical office square footage allowed within the center in order to accommodate for future market demands and allow for a varied tenant mix. The center's ownership wishes to convert 18,125 square feet of existing vacant retail floor area to medical office and 2,319 square feet of existing vacant retail space to restaurant uses. These changes represent an intensification of use from a parking perspective, as both medical office and restaurant uses require additional parking per the municipal code. For example, retail uses require 5 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area, while medical office uses and restaurant uses are parked at 6 per 1,000 square feet and 10 per 1,000 square feet, respectively. Application of city code requirements treat each tenant as a "stand alone" use therefore increasing the parking requirement for the center as a whole. Since the number of parking spaces required by the code exceeds the number present at the center, the applicant is requesting a variance from the parking requirements (Exhibits 3 through 6). Project Background The Metro Town Square development was originally constructed in 1972 and underwent a series of additions, facade improvements and building renovations in 1998 which included additions to the existing Vons supermarket and the center as a whole. In 2000, a zone change and variance were approved to allow the construction of a Bally's Health Club and Jack-In-The-Box restaurant. The previous entitlements allowed for a 12.8 percent reduction in required parking and allowed the existing nonconforming landscaped setbacks to remain. Since 2000, the Metro Town Square has attracted additional interest from medical office operators and prospective restaurant tenants. 31 B-4